Which hone to pick?

[Luc]

I know I will get a good diversity of answers but, I'm curious to know which hone I should pick-up. I know, the question was asked in the past and the popular answer is either a Chinese 12k or a Barber Hone.

Where am I going with this? Well, easy, I am no honemeister, I have a stone over here (Barber Hone), it works to maintain the edge of my straights but it's not as smooh as when I get the straight back from the honer.

Normal? Yes, we are not using the same stone, different grit, different skills. All good with this so far. I don't think there are any magic hones out there but there must be something that would take the straight closer to the smoothness I get when it's freshy honed.

I know that I can pick a finishing hone and use it like a barber hone. The higher the grit, the smoother it will be. I am looking at Japanese stones at the moment and they seem to be very high (grit) but I'm wondering if they won't be too high. If I use the straight and it will be past the point of using one of those natural stones that will bring back the smooth edge.

I'm very happy with the barber hone but, if I can get a smoother edge, why not?!

At this stage, all I want is something that will give me a brillant finish on my edges. I will probably continue and buy more stones later but I can't buy all of them at once. If I get one really good finishing stone, then I can see from there where I'm going.

[jtrops]

Just out of curiosity, is a pasted strop out of the question?

It sounds to me like 5-6 passes on a balsa strop with CrOx would follow your barber hone very nicely.

Unfortunately, I can't really give advice on another finisher because my Carborundum barber hone gets my edge very sharp, and smooth. I can only assume that your hone is a bit more coarse than mine.

I am interested in getting a longer finisher though, and I have been considering the peoples hone. I don't mind the time that it will take, and everyone seems to give it great marks for edge quality.

[mainaman]

what kind of budget are we talking about?
Natural stones can be pretty expensive, but you can find some at good prices if you know where to look for them.
Synthetic 12k Super stone gets a lot of praise, followed by CrO or diamond spray should be pretty good option.

[Luc]

Pastes are not out of the question but I rather get a stone than a paste. The paste will need to be reapplied but the stone (as long as I don't drop it) will follow me!

Budget? Unsure for now as I'm just gathering the information. I know that a good stone, like anything could be anywhere between Free-$3,000...

At 12k, you get a good edge yes, but I think a higher grit would be better. The barber hone that I have at the moment is probably around 12k and I found the edge Average-good but not Wow!

[Sparq]

You need a Charnley Forest. Easy to use, superb finisher, good for touch-ups and not as slow as often reported when used with slurry.

[McKie]

What barber hone are you using ?

McKie

[jtrops]

Do you know what finisher was used the last time your razor was honed? It might be meaningless, or it could be telling. You read a lot about people who just like the edge from a coti for instance.

I like the maintenance free options. While it's true that you have to lap the C12k for ever and a day to get it flat, it's also true that once it's flat it pretty much stays that way. The other finisher on my radar is a Spyderco Ultrafine.

As for CrOx, yes you need to re-apply. Not that often though, and I have a small bag that I got from Handamerican which will no doubt last into my great grand childrens lifetime. I guess I'm not trying to say it's no maintenance, but I have some of the powder mixed with lexol in a small dropper bottle. It's easy to add a few drops when I need it, and it doesn't make any mess. It seems to me that if you are going to carry a hone with you it would be as easy to carry a small bottle of CrOx.

[Luc]

What barber hone are you using ?

McKie

A barber hone with "Barber Hone" stamped on it. I don't know anything else, it's reddish but the colour won't affect the grit...

Do you know what finisher was used the last time your razor was honed? It might be meaningless, or it could be telling. You read a lot about people who just like the edge from a coti for instance.

I like the maintenance free options. While it's true that you have to lap the C12k for ever and a day to get it flat, it's also true that once it's flat it pretty much stays that way. The other finisher on my radar is a Spyderco Ultrafine.

As for CrOx, yes you need to re-apply. Not that often though, and I have a small bag that I got from Handamerican which will no doubt last into my great grand childrens lifetime. I guess I'm not trying to say it's no maintenance, but I have some of the powder mixed with lexol in a small dropper bottle. It's easy to add a few drops when I need it, and it doesn't make any mess. It seems to me that if you are going to carry a hone with you it would be as easy to carry a small bottle of CrOx.

I see what you mean with the CrOx but I want to use a stone.

I know which stone it was and I'm looking at the moment at getting another one. All I want is a few opinion on people who use them. Can you use them like barber hone, is it enough? I won't be honing a non-shave ready straight with those, I will be maintaining my edges that's all.

I'm worried that a 30k grit will be so high that I will need 300+ laps to get it back to the super-sharp-smooth stage...

[Redhead]

Hi,
I believe that most people honing others razors are using pastes as the final step. This only makes since as time is money. A good barbers hone is not going to leave the finished edge as smooth as a hi grit paste. But, the edge is perfectly acceptable and it should be faster than the chinese hone.
RED

[dancraig]

You could try a strop kit from Larry:
http://www.whippeddog.com/browse_all/2/

[mainaman]

I think most of the guys here are missing the point.
The OP asks about finishing stones not strops pastes and such.
A good quality Japanese finisher can easily cover 8-30k range.

[domino]

I understand you are looking for a stone. On the other hand check out the pictures of what Seraphim is doing with lapping film and CrOx, Smooooth!

[Luc]

I think most of the guys here are missing the point.
The OP asks about finishing stones not strops pastes and such.
A good quality Japanese finisher can easily cover 8-30k range.

Yes, that's what I'm after.

I know that a 12k will be a smooth finish, a barber hone also, I want something even nicer and smoother. There use to be a time where pastes where not used.

[charismata]

IMO you might be focusing too much on the specified grit as opposed to performance of individual hones and how they might fit into a progression.

For the longest time I struggled with a barber hone and a C12K as finishers. I never really had very good results until I added the DMT 8K (D8EE) into the mix. The D8EE gives an excellent edge and the C12K gives a little polishing beyond that. My blades have never been sharper.

If I had it to do over again, the D8EE would be one of my first purchases instead of one of my last.

[Luc]

IMO you might be focusing too much on the specified grit as opposed to performance of individual hones and how they might fit into a progression.

For the longest time I struggled with a barber hone and a C12K as finishers. I never really had very good results until I added the DMT 8K (D8EE) into the mix. The D8EE gives an excellent edge and the C12K gives a little polishing beyond that. My blades have never been sharper.

If I had it to do over again, the D8EE would be one of my first purchases instead of one of my last.

That would probably be the approach if I want to hone my straights myself. All I want is to maintain an edge on the straights. Eventually, I would probably buy a full set of hones and do a full honing but right now, I just want to maintain what I have. If a Barber Hone is considered good (I think it is), that's all right but what if, I want to go one step further to have a smoother edge than what my barber hone is offering me?

[thanks]

I was looking at a new finisher that was faster than my Ch12K, and a lot of people suggested the Naniwa 10k. When I asked about the difference in the edge between the 10k and the 12k, people said they couldn't really tell a difference. The Naniwa 10k is priced competitively as well. I know it's not a Jnat, but in my opinion most Jnat's go way past the point of being expensive and into the territory of "absolutely ridiculous" in price.

[cooltide]

i have one of these on the way from dick.biz Awaseto – Quarry Stones
at the minute i am using a vintage thuringian & find it ok
check out his site

[JohnDee]

The C12K is great when it comes to polishing an edge. Check the photos on these pages:

Hones only:
http://straightrazorplace.com/srpwik..._various_hones

Hones and pastes:
http://straightrazorplace.com/srpwik..._various_hones

[wdwrx]

IMHO and limited experience, I think that the Syderco UF is probably the best bang for the buck as a finishing/touch-up hone. I've got a fairly decent collection of stones at this point, and have played around with the various hones and watched the scratch patterns develop under 100x magnification, bar none, the SpydeeUF leaves the finest, most polished edge of them all. Joel, in his review, rated it at about 14-16K (IIRC) and I would agree. I go from my Nani12K to the UF to strops. It's consistent, relatively cheap (sub$100 new) dead flat, low maintenance, well sized (8"x2"). I think of it as the barber's hone of today. Materials technology has come a long ways in 50 years.

Of course, this is all moot, isn't it? we all know how AD's work. Once you start....

[Disburden]

You need a Charnley Forest. Easy to use, superb finisher, good for touch-ups and not as slow as often reported when used with slurry.

And they can be over 100.00 on ebay if you're lucky.